Under Alien Skies 5, Alien Ways
by Alec Star
Summary: Sam talks to Teal'c but things don't quite go as expected. Sequel to 'Under Alien Skies, Propagation'.
1. Chapter 1: Two to Tango

**_Disclaimer_**: I don't own the concepts, I don't own the characters, I make no money, I make no sense and I get no sleep, though on a positive note I absolutely love feedback (in other words, please review).

**_Warning_**: this story is a sequel to **_Under Alien Skies - Propagation_**, if you've read that story you know what this is about, if you haven't this probably won't make much sense. You should also be warned that this story deals with adult issues including rape.

**_Timeline_**: this takes place roughly two weeks after **_Propagation_**.

**_Note about the series_**: while this is the fifth story in this universe, the only one that is pretty much a must read in order to follow this one is **_Propagation_**.

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**_Under Alien Skies - Alien Ways_**  
Chapter 1: Two to Tango  
(Sam's POV) 

Okay, so the good news is that I know what I have to do, the bad news is that I don't have a clue as to how to do it.

That I have to talk to Teal'c is a fact that can no longer be denied but there are so many things I don't know how to explain to him... and the truth is that, even though I trust him, I'm still afraid of how he is going to react to this one. The whole situation with the colonel was bad enough but at least there I knew what I was up against. I knew what his concerns and his expectations were likely to be and I knew how to counter them. I also knew where he was coming from, that is the big difference. In that regard Teal'c is the unknown... and I hate what that says about me, about us.

He's been fighting by our side for over nine months now but the truth is that we've never really taken the time to get to know what he thinks. We know he wants to free his people, of course, and we routinely rely on his strength and his knowledge of the Goa'uld to stay alive but in a way that is the extent of it. We've never made a serious effort to learn more about the world he comes from, not really. I guess in a way it was only natural.

Fighting the Goa'uld and their armies of Jaffa is a lot easier if we can avoid thinking of those Jaffa as human.

Of course, even though we've certainly contributed to this situation, it is not entirely our fault either. Yes, we have never really made an effort to get to know more about Teal'c than he's been willing to volunteer but at the same time there's no denying the fact that he doesn't say much and **_that_** has certainly contributed to the current situation. The problem is that what I have to do now is to figure out a way to talk to him, not to try to assign blame. Yes, talking to him would be a lot easier if I had a better idea of just what it is that I'm facing here but 'would be' doesn't help and I know it.

That means I'm going to have no choice but to take the plunge here and hope to survive the encounter... almost literally.

I know it's crazy, I know Teal'c would never hurt me --not really-- but I guess this is one downside of the work I've been doing with Daniel that we never considered. A couple of weeks ago I would have been uneasy at the thought of this conversation, there's no denying that, but at least I wouldn't have had a mental tally of just how many cultures have considered rape to be a capital crime... for the victim. That is something I can't quite get out of my mind.

In other words, while I know Teal'c would never hurt me, I also know that there is a very real possibility that he will be disgusted by me and that bothers me.

So how am I supposed to approach this? How much should I tell Teal'c? My first instinct is to say as little as possible, though I know I should probably tell him as much as I've told the colonel... with the difference that with the colonel I knew there were a number of things I could imply knowing that he would fill in the blanks on his own, with Teal'c that probably won't be the case. Chances are that with Teal'c I'm going to have to spell things out and that is yet another thing I'm dreading.

I know that even in a best case scenario talking to Teal'c will probably require a far more detailed explanation than any I've had to give up until now and that is **_not_** something I'm looking forward to, far from it.

The thing is that, as Daniel said, this is a cultural thing and just like we can't possibly predict how Teal'c is going to react to some of the things I'm going to have to tell him, there are certain questions he'll probably not know **_not_** to ask. With the colonel, for instance, we've been involved in an intricate dance aimed at satisfying both his need to know and his desire to avoid most of the details almost from the start, the problem is that such a dance takes two and if I were to attempt something similar with Teal'c we would almost certainly end up stepping all over each other's toes.

That is yet another element that is likely to complicate things here but unfortunately it can't really be avoided. Not as long as **_I'm_** the one facing this.

I admit I have considered the possibility of asking Daniel to help me out here but deep down I know I have to do this on my own. I've been trying to tell everyone that I'm fine these past couple of weeks and this is my chance to prove it to myself... especially because the bottom line is that up until now I have never **_told_** anyone, not really. Daniel basically figured it out on his own, he told Janet and Janet in turn told the general. Then the general took it upon himself to fill in the colonel. Yes, I've talked to all of them but I did that when they already knew... and now that's going to have to change.

Well, tomorrow is the day and that means I have tonight to think things through, to figure out how am I supposed to approach this and to come up with some sort of plan I'll almost certainly have to abandon the moment Teal'c opens his mouth. I guess in the end maybe the colonel was right about me rationalizing things, though not necessarily in the way he thought. I don't hide behind my rationalizations but I do feel lost without them. I **_have_** to have a plan and I **_have_** to have all the facts in order to approach a new situation. I **_have_** to be able to make some sort of sense out of things but no matter how hard I try I just can't deny the fact that in this particular instance there's no way that's going to happen. This is one case in which I'm going to have to go in blind and alone and that terrifies me.


	2. Chapter 2: The Scent of Trouble

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 2: The Scent of Trouble  
(Sam's POV)

I'm fidgeting outside Teal'c's quarters, trying to come up with an excuse not to do this, even though I know I have to. It's just that gathering the courage to knock on his door is taking a lot more than I had been expecting. I guess this is what people mean when they talk about the first step being the hardest. Right now I have so many 'what if' scenarios running through my mind that I can't even hear myself think.

Knowing that trying to postpone this won't make matters any easier I knock on the door, even as I try to make a list of all the reasons why Teal'c may not be here. He could be in the mess hall or at the gym or taking a shower or... unfortunately my hopes are dashed as soon as he opens the door.

This is it. He is here and so am I... and I am all out of excuses.

"Captain Carter," he greets me, and I don't know how to react. I thought I could do this but I can't. I am about to come up with some sort of excuse, something that will enable me not to tell him when he asks, "is something the matter?"

"No," I say before correcting myself. "Yes," I admit, closing my eyes and letting out a resigned sigh. I may not want to tell him but I desperately want to have told him and the only way in which I can get this particular confrontation into the past tense is by having it now.

"Is there something I can do?"

"No, it's just that..." I trail off, not quite knowing what to say, how to explain... and desperately wanting to be anywhere but standing in the middle of the hallway. This is **_not_** the place for us to have this conversation and I know it, unfortunately I'm not sure of how to convey that to Teal'c.

Apparently seeing something in my eyes he says, "please come in."

"Thank you," I say, walking in and not even trying to hide my relief. Now I just have to figure out what to say in light of the fact that Teal'c hasn't really given me an opening... not that I was expecting him to.

I look around, trying to think of something and taking in everything around me, looking for some sort of inspiration but it doesn't help. Almost without realizing it I mutter, "this is hard."

"I am afraid I do not understand, Captain Carter," says Teal'c and it takes me a couple of seconds to realize that I actually said that out loud.

"I know, that's part of the problem. There's something I have to tell you, it's just that I don't..." I trail off **_again_** and I can barely keep myself from shaking my head at my own inability to form the words. Taking in a deep breath I gather my courage and say, "something happened off-world a few months ago, something I kept from all of you. Daniel found out about it a couple of weeks ago and told the colonel."

"I see," he says.

I know Teal'c is not exactly known for his long and rousing speeches but the truth is that I **_really_** could use some help here. Knowing that there's no use in trying to put this off any longer I finally blurt out, "I was raped."

"Indeed," he says, catching me totally off guard. Of all the answers I wasn't expecting, that one was probably pretty high up the list. Teal'c may not be all that demonstrative but there is no shock in his voice, no surprise, no nothing. It is almost as if he had known all along but I know he couldn't have... or at least I **_think_** he couldn't have.

"You knew?" I finally manage to ask, trying to assimilate this latest piece of the puzzle.

"That is correct."

"How?" I manage to choke out.

"I have noticed that the Tau'ri are often unaware of their sense of smell. The Jaffa, however, know that it is not wise for a warrior to dismiss the warnings provided by one of his senses," he points out and I feel myself blush. I guess when he puts it like that it **_does_** make sense. What I can't understand, however, is why he didn't say anything... not that I'm not deeply relieved by that fact.

"You didn't say anything," I point out, rather stupidly, not really knowing what else to say.

"Because until today I was unaware that O'Neill did not know of our failure."

"Your failure?"

"Indeed."

"Okay, now I'm afraid I **_really_** don't understand," I say, though I seriously suspect I'm **_not_** going to like what he has to say here.

"You were under our protection, we failed," he explains as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You didn't fail and I **_wasn't_** under your protection," I all but growl, deeply resenting the implications of that statement, even though I think I understand where Teal'c is coming from. That's one of the main reasons why I was so reluctant to talk to him in the first place.

"It was our duty to keep you safe," he insists.

"I am a soldier, I know the risks," I remind him.

"Yes, but you are also a woman."

"It doesn't matter."

"How could it not?" he asks, and the truth is that I'm not sure how to answer that question, especially because I am fairly certain that not too deep down that same mindset is exactly what is making it so hard for the colonel and the general to come to terms with what happened to me on Simarka. The only difference is that Teal'c doesn't know **_not_** to mention it.

"It's just that I can take care of myself," I finally say, knowing that it's not going to do me much good.

"Indeed, however it is still my shame."

"Your shame?" I ask, still not liking the sound of that one. This is **_not_** what I had been expecting and the truth is that I really could use some help here, the problem is that I know I'm on my own.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I failed you."

"But you **_didn't_** fail me," I say, again.

"Were you not harmed by Turghan?"

"Yes, but..."

"Then I failed."

"No, you didn't. I know you think I was under your protection but that's not how it works. You have to be able to trust me to take care of myself and carry my own weight, just like I trust you to do the same."

"I do not understand."

"I know. That's one of the reasons why I took this long to tell you, because I didn't know how to explain... I still don't know. I never thought that you might have known all along and be blaming yourself," I admit, trying desperately to keep a lid on my own frustration even as I realize that my explanation comes across as a rather pitiful case of too little, too late. The question now is: how can I get Teal'c to understand what I'm trying to say here **_without_** making an even bigger mess out of this one.


	3. Chapter 3: Of Strength and Honor

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 3: Of Strength and Honor  
(Sam's POV)

Okay, so I've made a mistake --a big one-- and now I have to try to figure out a way to sort this out. The problem is that in order to do that I would have to understand where Teal'c is coming from a lot better than I do and I am no anthropologist. Of course, I knew from the start that we were going to have a problem here, I just never expected it to take this particular form, though maybe I should have.

One of the things Daniel mentioned while we were working on the guidelines was that in most ancients civilizations rape was seen as a crime against a **_man's _**honor --a crime against a father or a husband-- and while neither one of those labels applies to my relationship with Teal'c, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by the fact that in some level he thinks of me as being under his protection. For him that is probably the natural order of things. I may be his teammate but to him I am a woman first... and the bottom line is that he is **_not_** the only one who feels that way. The colonel may be phrasing it in more politically correct terms by saying that I was under his command when this whole thing happened but in the end what he means is exactly the same thing.

The good news --if you can call it that-- is that he is **_not_** blaming me. Considering how this could have gone that is definitely an advantage.

"It wasn't your fault ," I say, trying to reassure him. "Yes, something happened to me that shouldn't have but **_I_** am the one who agreed to take some chances when I accepted a spot in SG-1 and I don't regret that decision. I knew what the risks were going in and I accepted them. It was my choice and you are not responsible for my choices."

"In Chulak there can hardly be a greater shame for a warrior than to fail to protect his woman," he explains.

"Yes, well, first, we are not in Chulak and second I am **_not_** your woman," I point out, on the verge of losing my temper in light of that particular comment. I know the differences between our worlds are not Teal'c's fault and I **_do_** realize that he is doing his best to get used to life on an alien world but there is something about that particular statement that triggers an almost instinctive reaction in me. Ever since I can remember I've been trying to be accepted as an equal in a male dominated world and I've never taken kindly to being reminded of the fact that, no matter how hard I try, it's never really going to happen.

"I am aware of that," he says, "however you are a woman and it is still my duty to protect you."

"It is our duty to protect each other, I'll give you that, but the bottom line is that if you don't trust me to take care of myself you could wind up dead," I reply growing more and more worried.

"Is not death something a warrior must expect here in your world, Captain Carter?"

"It is something a warrior may encounter, I'm not denying that, but there's a difference between dying for what you believe in while battling an enemy and dying because you don't trust your own teammate to be able to take care of herself," I point out before going on. "I mean, I understand that there are probably no female warriors in Chulak but..."

"Indeed. In Chulak women are trained so that they can defend their homes and their families in absence of their husbands but no Jaffa would ever allow his woman to go into battle with him," he interrupts me and I cringe again at the whole 'his woman' thing, though on a rational level I know I'm reading too much into it. It may sound alien to me but I guess considering the fact that Jaffa are essentially slaves, Teal'c does not see it the way I do. In his world the women belong to the men just like the men belong to the Goa'uld, **_that_** apparently is something that is not even questioned. He may be fighting to free his people but that doesn't mean he can turn off all of his preconceived notions at will just because he is living on a different planet now. He may be willing to give up his life in an attempt to overthrow the Goa'uld but that doesn't automatically mean that he is going to stop thinking like a Jaffa any time soon. That is something I knew coming in and it is also something I'm just going to have to deal with... in fact the good news is that in a way this conversation has alerted me to the fact that we actually **_do_** have a pretty serious problem in that regard. That is something we had overlooked simply because Teal'c doesn't really say much and it is also something that could easily have come back to haunt us in the battlefield. I don't know if I'll be able to change his mind about this one but I do know that we will be keeping a closer eye on this particular situation from now on.

"I get that, but things are different here. In Chulak it may be inconceivable for a Jaffa to allow a woman to go into battle but here I am a member of your team and as such it is up to me to carry my own weight. Now, I'm not saying that I don't want your help. I count on you to watch my back just like I hope you can count on me to watch yours, but that's no different from what would be the case with Daniel or the colonel," I say before a different approach occurs to me. "You are aware that you are far stronger than either one of them, aren't you?"

"Indeed," he says, merely acknowledging the fact.

"So you know that chances are there will be some circumstances in which you will be the one best suited to help them out."

"Yes."

"In other words, it would be possible for us to say that you are aware that there are some instances in which they may need your strength in order to survive, right?"

"That is correct."

"But, even though there may be instances in which they require your help, you don't feel that protecting them is a matter of honor, do you?"

"No, they are my fellow warriors, especially O'Neill."

"And physically who is stronger, the colonel or Drey'auc?" I ask, knowing that I have him almost where I want him.

"Drey'auc. She is Jaffa," he says without hesitation.

"So who is more likely to need your protection, Daniel and the colonel or Drey'auc?"

"But it is not only a matter of strength, Captain Carter, it is also a matter of honor. I respect them as warriors and it would not be honorable for me to treat them as if they were women."

"Yes, well, the point is that I'm not that much weaker than they are and that means that I don't **_need_** your protection any more than they do," I all but growl.

"That is correct, however you are still a woman so there is no dishonor in me treating you as one," he insists and I am sorely tempted to hit my head against the wall but --realizing that there's no point in giving myself a concussion here-- I start pacing instead. Okay, so I'm guessing this is going to take a while.

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**_Author's notes_**: Hi guys, thank you for your reviews, they are really appreciated. Now, before you tell me that Teal'c's reaction here is not consistent with his reaction to Ishta, please remember that we are talking season one here and Ishta doesn't appear until mid season seven so it is not unreasonable to assume that Teal'c's attitude toward female warriors may have changed in the meantime.

Thank for reading and please review!

Alec


	4. Chapter 4: The Other Side

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 4: The Other Side  
(Sam's POV)

"Okay, let's leave that alone for a moment, could you at least explain to me why you didn't tell the colonel what you knew?" I ask, hoping to change the subject, well aware that otherwise I would just end up getting more than a little mad here... and we would just keep going around in circles anyway.

"As I said, I did not realize that he was unaware of our failure. What Turghan did to you was a dishonor to us all and a warrior does not willingly share his shame. I was surprised when he did not insist that we go back to seek vengeance, especially when he allowed you to fight Turghan, but..."

"It had to be me," I interrupt, deeply relieved by the fact that we are back in somewhat familiar territory, though I'm fairly certain it won't last.

"I am afraid I do not understand, Captain Carter."

"The old laws we were using to challenge Turghan's 'right' to stone his daughter to death dictated that the one issuing the challenge had to be another chieftain," I remind him. "When you were trying to get me back, one of the arguments Daniel used was that **_I_** was the chief of our people. That may have sounded crazy to Turghan's ears but it did mean that neither one of you could fight him, not according to that law."

"I see," he says, though I'm pretty sure he is still far from convinced.

"It was **_my_** responsibility," I insist, still trying to explain. "I was the one who had talked Nya into defying her father in the first place and there was no way I was going to let him kill her for **_my_** mistakes."

"And you were **_our_** responsibility so the fact that he hurt you was **_our_** failure," he says and I can't help but cringe at that because the truth is that even **_I_** can see the double standard in my words. I challenged Turghan because my principles told me that it was wrong for Nya to die in the way her own laws dictated but at the same time I am getting mad at Teal'c for holding on to his own ways where I am concerned. Why is it right for me to say that Nya was my responsibility but to take offense when Teal'c says that I was under his protection?

I mean, I pride myself on being logical but I think Teal'c has managed to trap me with only a handful of words here... and he has also succeeded in pointing out that I must **_really_** learn to accept other cultures when I go through the gate. That is not going to be easy... especially because we can't really rule out the possibility that we may someday encounter another civilization with values similar to the ones we found on Simarka.

Sure, that possibility is **_not_** something I want to dwell on but the bottom line is that, based on human history, that's **_not_** an unlikely scenario... in fact it is far more likely than I care to contemplate.

That is a disturbing thought but I can't keep playing the ostrich here and burying my head in the sand, pretending that such a thing will never happen, nor can I go on expecting the universe to mold itself to my sensitivities and beliefs because that **_could_** end up making matters much worse, as was the case on Simarka. Sure, there were some things on that mission that were definitely beyond our control and those played a major role in the way in which the whole situation unfolded, but at the same time there's no denying the fact that my own actions, my determination to challenge their rules because they were different from my own and I found them offensive, also contributed to the way in which things turned out.

In other words, if I want to keep going through the gate, **_I_** am the one who is going to have to come to terms with the fact that other people may have principles, values and beliefs that are incompatible with my own and that definitely includes Teal'c.

I mean, I held on to my principles while we were on Simarka but at the same time here I am, **_demanding_** that Teal'c turn a blind eye to his own. Sure, I'd like to pretend that the situations are entirely different but deep down I know they are not.

On Simarka I intervened to keep an innocent girl from being murdered in the name of some barbaric laws and traditions. I couldn't help myself, especially because I knew I would never have been able to live with myself if I had allowed that execution to go forward. The thing is that, as far as I was concerned, preventing Nya's death was a matter of honor... and that is exactly how Teal'c perceives 'his obligation' to protect me.

In other words, the only **_real_** difference is that Nya's life was in danger as a direct result of my own actions, whereas there's no way anyone could argue that what happened to me on Simarka was Teal'c's fault.

Sure, that difference sounds relevant but deep down I know it's not. Even if I had had nothing to do with Nya's decision to defy her father, if I had learned of her impending execution I **_still_** would have intervened, of that I have no doubt.

Unfortunately that understanding brings me no closer to figuring out what am I supposed to do about my current problems with Teal'c... though maybe I should try the logical approach and check my emotions at the door.

From a logical perspective I guess I can understand why he would be more than a little puzzled by the fact that I am getting mad at him for treating me like a woman... especially because, as far as Teal'c is concerned, **_that_** is probably the respectful thing for him to do. After all, there's no denying that it is my own background that leads me to perceive such treatment as condescending and offensive and that background is definitely not his fault.

The thing is that that understanding also points me toward a possible solution to our current problem because it means that I don't have to convince Teal'c not to treat me like a woman, not really, I just have to get him to understand that I am --in his terms-- a warrior in spite of my gender. In other words, this is not about getting him to replace one term with another but rather to come to terms with the fact that it is possible for both of those terms --warrior and woman-- to apply to the same person... the rest is basically **_my_** problem.

Of course, even achieving that much will probably be easier said than done... though I think he **_may_** already have given me an opening in that regard. After all, he did mention that --even though they don't go into battle-- women in Chulak are trained to defend themselves. That means that men probably don't expect them to be completely helpless and it also means that they are likely to expect them to be at least competent when it comes to defending themselves and those they care for. **_That_** is certainly something I can work with.

If that is the case then it should be possible for me to get Teal'c to trust my ability to take care of myself, even if he **_does_** insist on treating me like a woman.


	5. Chapter 5: Broken Perspectives

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 5: Broken Perspectives  
(Sam's POV)

Okay, so I guess I'm back where I started, back to trying to make sense out of Teal'c's perceptions... and wondering how many more tries is it going to take for me to make some sort of headway here. Sure, I know this is all about finding where the end of the problem is and working my way back from there but unfortunately that end just seems to keep moving time and time again and that is making it almost impossible for me to hold on to it.

At first I thought the problem was going to be telling Teal'c what had actually happened on Simarka, but that turned out to be a non-issue because he already knew, in fact he surprised me by telling me that he had known all along. After that I figured the question was going to be how to help him move past his guilt, but instead he made me see that my own expectations were totally unreasonable and that I was asking him to do something I wasn't willing to do myself. Now I have to figure out a way to get him to come to terms with the fact that I am a warrior in spite of my gender... or at least something close to it. The problem is that in order to do that I would need a better working definition of just what it is that he considers a warrior in the first place and once again my ignorance about Chulak is coming back to haunt me.

For instance, one of the key things I am relying on here is that maybe, just maybe, being male is **_not_** a requirement. I know that --if what Teal'c has said here is anything to go by-- that is a big if but at the same time I know that is my best shot if I ever want him to accept me as an equal... or at least as a reliable sister in arms. Of course, the fact that I am guessing as to such a basic aspect also illustrates just how in the dark I really am about too many things here and that is not something I am particularly comfortable with.

I like having the facts at my fingertips and all this guesswork is driving me crazy... especially because one of the things I have to do to try to think like Teal'c, to figure out where he is coming from, is to separate myself from my own assumptions. That doesn't sound so bad but the truth is that it is turning out to be much harder than I could possibly have imagined because some of those assumptions are so basic to the way in which I perceive the world that, whenever I do so much as **_begin_** to question them, I find myself feeling more than a little lost.

To question those assumptions means to challenge my most basic perceptions of the world around me and I hate it, but at the same time there is no denying that getting Teal'c to change some of **_his_** perceptions is exactly what I'm trying to do here and it wouldn't be fair of me to demand something of him that I'm not willing to do myself... even if I don't particularly like it.

The thing is that this whole encounter has turned out to be **_nothing_** like I had been expecting and, in a really odd kind of way, it has also given me a brand new respect for my teammate. I mean, here I am, struggling to separate myself from my own beliefs for a few minutes when he has been functioning successfully in our world for more than eight months. Sure, he may seem stuffy at times and we may have a hard time understanding some things about him, but the bottom line is that he has been doing a lot better than I would have if our positions had been reversed.

If I had been expected to survive on Chulak, surrounded by as much open suspicion and hostility as Teal'c has encountered here on earth and totally isolated from anything that could possibly be described as a frame of reference, I seriously doubt I would have made it.

I guess I had never really given that much thought, maybe because I believed I had a 'more accurate' example based on the way in which Daniel managed to make himself at home on Abydos. The difference is that that is one instance in which Daniel found himself living not so much in an alien world but rather in a world he had been dreaming of all his life.

Daniel was originally brought into the SGC before there even **_was_** an SGC because he was an egyptologist... and Abydonian society was, in a way, Ancient Egypt in a bubble. Sure, I know that is a gross oversimplification of the facts but the bottom line is that the people on Abydos were the direct descendants of a civilization Daniel was intimately familiar with, and that civilization hadn't changed all that much since their ancestors had been taken from our world. Ra had seen to that so rather than being confronted with a truly alien world, what Daniel found on that planet was an environment that afforded him an opportunity to fulfill his every professional fantasy.

Teal'c, on the other hand, comes from Chulak and from there he found himself suddenly transported to our world with no warning whatsoever. In an odd kind of way I am almost tempted to say that he was transported to our 'more advanced' world, but the truth is that that assessment is probably far from accurate... or at best it is only partially accurate. In that regard I am also being forced to question my own definition of what 'advanced' means and that is not something I had ever thought I would have to do.

From what little we saw when we were there, I would say that --at least from our perspective-- life on Chulak can be described as a walking contradiction. On the one hand everyday life appears to be fairly simple, far simpler than life on earth --or at least in the United States-- but gate travel is seen as perfectly ordinary and Goa'uld technology is not only widely available but also accepted without even being questioned.

Sure, the Goa'uld themselves are perceived as gods and that can make their technology easier for people to accept because miracles don't require an explanation but the thing is that there are two very different realities that seem to exist side by side on that world... and even the 'miracle' explanation only works for so long.

The bottom line is that, as much as we don't want to admit it, what Teal'c knows about Goa'uld tech is more than enough to blow that cover out of the water.

In other words, there are many assumptions I have been making ever since I first met him that I am all of a sudden coming to the realization that are probably unfounded, assumptions that are based on my own prejudices and perceptions... and the bottom line is that I am having a hard time even trying to come to terms with the fact that my assumptions and perceptions **_are_** prejudiced in the first place.

I have been looking at the universe from a human perspective for well over thirty years and now I am suddenly having to come to terms with the fact that that human perspective is just one of countless possibilities. That is not an easy adjustment for me to make and it is one aspect in which I suspect Teal'c has an edge over me because he never thought that a Jaffa's perspective was the only possible one. Of course, while I am trying to rid myself of some thirty years worth of preconceived notions here, Teal'c is having to shed almost a century's worth of experience when it comes to seeing the world through a Jaffa's eyes, so I guess in a way that makes us even.


	6. Chapter 6: All This Time

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 6: All This Time  
(Sam's POV)

I'm still trying to figure out what I can do to bridge the gap with Teal'c when I suddenly realize that I may have answered my question already. The fact that Teal'c is a Jaffa --and the fact that there are bound to be some major cultural differences between us-- are things I cannot change, however that doesn't mean that there can't be some similarities that could make it possible for me to accept where he is coming from a little better. Up until now I have been so focused on the differences between our cultures, thinking them insurmountable, that I have totally ignored the things our worlds have in common, even though some of them are pretty obvious. As I said, I am trying to rid myself of some thirty years worth of preconceived notions here but Teal'c is having to shed almost a century's worth of experience when it comes to seeing the world through a Jaffa's eyes... and that century is probably the key.

The thing is that, because of the obvious differences between human and Jaffa life expectancies, Teal'c's age is something I rarely --if ever-- think about, something I have a hard time associating with my very strong and seemingly young friend... but in this case it is also something I may be able to use.

Teal'c is almost one hundred years old. That means that he is only a few years younger than my great-grandfather would have been if he were still alive and the thing is that --even though I never even met the man-- I do have some memories of my grandfather... and I do remember hearing some of his comments about what the 'proper' place of a woman was supposed to be back when I was little. I remember how I used to envy the toy planes my brother got from him every Christmas when we were growing up and I remember how I had to make do with dolls and tea sets I never really cared for. I even remember my grandfather getting pretty mad at me for trying to borrow one of my brother's planes. For my grandfather toy planes were not appropriate for a little girl and I can only imagine what my great-grandfather would have had to say about the matter... and his perspective is one I can understand, one I can easily accept as being a product of his time.

That is a link I can use here because it is something I can definitely relate to... especially because in a way it **_wouldn't_** be wrong to say that Teal'c is a product of that same time, even if he does come from a different environment. The bottom line is that his idea of what a woman's place should be is **_not_** too far removed from the one that was prevalent here on earth at the time when he was growing up in Chulak and the way he treats me --not to mention what he perceives to be his duty to keep me safe-- is consistent with what I would have expected from a hundred year-old man.

When Teal'c was roughly twenty years old, the US Constitution was amended to guarantee women the right to vote and he was well over sixty by the time domestic violence was first recognized as a real problem in this country. Up until that point a man's 'right' to _discipline_ his wife had been a tacitly --if not explicitly-- accepted fact, though some laws protecting women were already in the books. In fact even today animal protection shelters outnumber battered women shelters by a ratio of more than three to one, though luckily none of the women in those shelters has to worry about the possibility of being put down if an appropriate solution to her predicament can't be found in a matter of days. As for rape, well, that particular subject was still taboo up until a few years ago so I guess from that perspective Teal'c's views are not that alien after all.

In other words, even if I were to totally ignore the fact that he comes from a different world, Teal'c's age is something that should make it possible for me to understand where he is coming from. That's the good news. The bad news is that, seeing how what I'm trying to do here is to get him to change his mind, the fact that I understand doesn't really help me much. Sure, I can respect where he is coming from and how much he has accomplished, how well he is doing, but the bottom line is that --regardless of how logical the fact that he is having trouble adjusting to my role in SG-1 happens to be-- I still have to figure out a way to get him to trust me in the field.

**_That_** is the real problem here and --unfortunately-- it is one I still don't know how to tackle.

Sooner or later --hopefully sooner-- we will be back out there, fighting the Goa'uld, and when we do not only do I need to know I have my team watching my six but I also need to know that my teammates trust me to watch theirs (and my own). I simply can't afford to have them worrying about me, about the fact that I am a woman. Sure, I know they trust me as a scientist, I know they don't exactly see me as a dead weight or a burden and I know they accept me more than most teams would in their position --and in that regard I don't mean just Teal'c-- but we are on the front lines of a war here and a partial acceptance may still not be good enough to keep **_them_** safe.

Yes, we have clearly made some progress in the past couple of weeks but the bottom line is that, no matter how I look at it, in that regard we still have a very long way to go.

* * *

**_Author's notes_**: Hi guys, sorry about the delay. I was trying to write one chapter from Teal'c's perspective and the truth is that it was a total failure so I ended up scrapping the whole thing. I'll try to do better and be more regular with my updates from now on,

Alec


	7. Chapter 7: The More Things Change

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 7: The More Things Change  
(Daniel's POV)

I watch Sam as she walks into my lab and I realize almost immediately that something is wrong, the only problem is that I don't know what, or maybe I do.

"So, how did it go?" I ask, well aware that she was planning to talk to Teal'c today and realizing that that is the most likely cause of her odd behavior.

"**_Not_** like I had been expecting it to," she admits, letting herself almost fall down on a chair in a totally uncharacteristic gesture.

"What happened?"

"He knew."

"He knew? How could he know?"

"Well, apparently it had something to do with the fact that we humans are not in the habit of paying attention to our sense of smell," she explains.

"Our sense of smell? Oh..." I trail off as I realize just what it is that she is saying here.

"Yes, oh... and apparently Teal'c has been blaming himself for what happened to me ever since we came back from Simarka and we never even noticed."

"Blaming himself?"

"He is convinced that he failed in his duty to protect 'his woman'," she explains. "I tried to tell him that he didn't fail and that I'm not his woman but I'm not really sure that helped much. The problem is that I just didn't know what to say and Teal'c wasn't much help, seeing how he doesn't say much to begin with so I couldn't really figure out what he was thinking. I mean, I've managed to learn a few things about him and I can honestly say that I understand him a lot better than I did before our little chat but I **_still_** don't know how to reach him and I'm worried."

"Worried?"

"Yes. If I can't get him to trust me to defend myself he could easily end up finding himself in a world of hurt while he is trying to protect me... and, to tell you the truth, in that regard I'm not sure he is the only one," she says before going on. "Sure, the colonel tries to keep things politically correct --something no-one would ever accuse Teal'c of-- but I'm not sure he trusts me to take care of myself and that could easily come back to haunt us if they are more worried about watching my six than their own... especially because I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure it's not so bad."

"Well, I'm not and I don't think I could live with it if something were to happen to either one of them because they were trying to keep me safe."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," I say, finally realizing where she is coming from and trying to reassure her.

"You don't know that," she insists.

"No, but I know you have to trust them to do the right thing, just like you want them to trust you."

"But what if...?" she begins but I cut her off almost immediately.

"You have to trust them to watch their own backs. Yes, they are bound to worry and the truth is that I don't think there's anything you could possibly say to either one of them that could possibly change that but they do trust you, besides..." I trail off, wondering if I'm about to cross the line here.

"Besides what?"

"Besides, if Teal'c has known all along, then you don't really have to worry about him treating you any differently now, do you?" I ask, reminding her of what her primary concern was supposed to be.

"I guess not," she reluctantly admits.

"But that's not really the problem?"

"I'm not sure. I'm trying to understand where he is coming from, I really am, but I just can't and that is frustrating... especially because I thought I knew him but I don't. I mean, we've been working together for almost a year and today I realized that I know next to nothing about Chulak. That was the thing I felt was holding me back the most, that I couldn't figure out just what it was that I was dealing with... and the fact that he did point out a few inconsistencies in my own behavior didn't really help matters."

"What kind of inconsistencies?" I ask, feeling more than a little curious.

"Things like the fact that I was getting mad at him because he insisted that I was under his protection while arguing that saving Nya was **_my_** responsibility because I was the one who had encouraged her to defy her father in the first place. I don't regret going back to save her, of course, but Teal'c's comments did make me feel like a bit of a hypocrite," she admits and I can't help but smile at that.

"Yes, well, we humans are not always consistent and this **_is_** an emotional issue," I remind her, wondering if I should duck for cover here. After all, reminding Sam that she is nowhere near as rational as she'd like to believe is **_not_** the best of ideas.

"I know, but still..."

"But still you pride yourself on being rational and you are not entirely comfortable with the notion that at times being human and being rational are two things that just **_don't_** go hand in hand?" I ask with a smile.

"Hey!"

"You know it's true," I insist.

"Yes, but --seeing how I don't have to be rational about it-- still hey!"

"So, other than that, how did it go?"

"Other than the fact that I was totally blindsided by the realization that Teal'c had known all along, that I discovered I know next to nothing about a member of my team and that I was confronted with my own hypocrisy, I guess it went about as well as could be expected."

"That well?" I ask, somewhat amused by Sam's obvious frustration.

"Well, in terms of me understanding where Teal'c is coming from it went great, in terms of getting him to understand where I'm coming from, not so great."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, as you said, Teal'c doesn't say much. That means that he may well have understood a lot more than you are giving him credit for here," I remind her.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not so sure what I was trying to get him to understand made that much sense to begin with... and the fact that I had no clue as to how to explain it to him probably didn't help matters."

"And what were you trying to explain?" I ask.

"That I can take care of myself, mostly," she says.

"And you are sure Teal'c doesn't understand that?" I ask, shaking my head at Sam's stubborn denial.

"Well, seeing how he was blaming himself for his failure to protect 'his woman', I would say that that's a pretty safe bet."

"Actually, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Why not?"

"Because you come from different worlds so I think you should go by Teal'c's actions rather than by his words. You say that he's known what happened on Simarka all along, right?" I ask.

"Yes."

"And up until now he's given you no reason whatsoever to even suspect that he knew... or that he didn't respect you, did he?"

"No, but..." she trails off.

"But what?" I prod.

"But he considers what happened to me to be 'his shame', that's why he never said anything about it... that and the fact that apparently he didn't realize that the colonel **_didn't_** know," she explains.

"Yes, but the point is that he knew and you never even suspected that much."

"So?"

"So, as I told you before, if he's known all along then I don't think you have to worry about the possibility of him treating you any differently now," I point out, again. I mean, I understand where Sam is coming from and I definitely understand how she feels but at the same time there is no denying the fact that, just like Jack and I have been doing our best to fight the urge to hover, just like we have had no choice but to come to terms with the fact that what happened on Simarka happened eight months ago --even if it's news to us-- now it is her turn to come to terms with the fact that Teal'c has known about it all along and that therefore his perception of her has not really changed in the past couple of hours. That's going to be a difficult adjustment for her and I know it, but the bottom line is that it is an adjustment she is going to have no choice but to make.

THE END (of this part)

* * *

**_Author's notes_**: Hi guys, okay, that's it for _Alien Ways_ (and I have to admit I'm glad this one is behind me). I still have two more stories to go in this series and I hope to start posting the next one in two weeks. Thanks for sticking with me (and for reviewing, of course)!

Alec


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